Shell’s high-profile Velox-1X exploration well failed to deliver the commercial hydrocarbon discovery Egypt had hoped for. But the well confirmed the presence of a working petroleum system, potentially spurring interest in Egypt’s frontier Western Mediterranean basin.
The wildcat well in the North Cleopatra block was the first to be spudded in the acreage and one of only a handful ever drilled in Egypt’s West Mediterranean (MEES, 29 May). A petroleum ministry source said the well will ultimately be plugged and abandoned. But he confirmed the existence of a working petroleum system, providing geological information that could guide future exploration despite the absence of a commercial discovery. (CONTINUED - 749 WORDS)
